Deborah’s new $1M scanner is ready for use

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Deborah Heart and Lung Center recently unveiled its new magnetic resonance imaging scanner, which creates detailed images of the heart without using radiation.

The equipment arrived at the Browns Mills facility less than a year after U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, both Democrats, secured a $1 million federal appropriation for Deborah to purchase the MRI machine, the health care provider said in an April 10 announcement.

The funding for Deborah was part of the $232 million the lawmakers secured in the Fiscal Year 2022 government funding bill.

“This is a great day at Deborah,” said President and CEO Joseph Chirichella in a statement. “I am thankful that Sens. Menendez and Booker advocated for the residents of Burlington County and supported funding to expand access to cardiac care in the region. This technology is essential to diagnose and monitor a variety of cardiovascular conditions, especially disorders of the cardiac muscle and valves, as well as congenital heart defects. Cardiac MRI is critically valuable in predicting the risk posed by different heart conditions, and is used to identify and tailor specific cardiac therapies, including for heart rhythm disturbances, as well as conditions related to COVID-19.”

A regional leader, the Burlington County hospital is the only one in the Delaware Valley region that focuses exclusively on cardiac, vascular, and lung disease. However, as Chirichella pointed out, the new MRI scanner also offers the chance for area patients to receive imaging beyond the heart, including for bones, joints, muscles and other organs.

“As one of the country’s leading cardiac centers a cardiac MRI builds on our program of excellence. However, community access to an MRI for a variety of other medical conditions will vastly reduce the need for residents to travel long distances for this type of specialized, detailed imaging, allowing people convenient, earlier, and more precise diagnosis of their conditions. We at Deborah are delighted to have this innovative technology on our campus, and are excited to play a role in a significant expansion of providing community-based health care.”

Last month, Deborah received another boost to help that growth with a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.